Andover boys’ basketball has a new head coach, a familiar one to those within the program and in the north metro basketball community. Activities Director Eric Lehtola announced Matt Aune as the new head coach after serving as an assistant in the program on the staff of Nick Tibesar, who resigned as head coach.

Aune has been in the Huskies program since 2008 and before then taught math at St. Francis High School and served on the staff of Ron Larson.

Aune joined the Andover High School math department in 2008, the community where his wife Deana and their two sons have lived in since 2005.

After graduating from Hibbing High School in 1991, as a self-proclaimed proud Iron Range alma mater of Kevin McHale, Aune played at Hamline University in St. Paul and followed other MIAC players to the same Danish league like Holy Angels coach Jesse Foley and University of Northern Iowa assistant coach Kyle Green. Aune played one season with the Kolding Basketball Club in Kolding, Denmark. Part of the one-year contract was to serve as instructor for several youth teams in the area. They also paid a monthly stipend, room and board and free transportation including a new bicycle and bus/train pass.

“It was a good year for a 22-year-old college grad,” he said.

After serving on Tibesar’s staff over the last two seasons, Aune immediately took over the program and is looking forward to a return run to the Section 7AAAA championship.

Under Tibesar, Aune said fundamental skills on both ends of the court became a major key to success. “I plan to build on these skills we have been developing under Coach Tibesar and moving forward our style of play will be similar,” Aune said.

Looking at last season critically, Andover gave up too many points and had a very low team shooting percentage.

“A case could be made that both of these statistics could be traced to our shot selection,” he said. “A coaching emphasis for next season will be to improve our shot selection.”

Aune said the off-season schedule remains the same, despite the change and feels fortunate to have four of the six coaches returning. In addition to Tibesar, JV coach Chris Kopp will not be back for the 2013-14 season and no replacement for Kopp has been announced.